PghDragonMan: Two exceptional YA books, that may be enjoyed by adults as well, wherein graphics play an integral role in telling the story. These are not graphic novels per se, but images are important!

Overall, the book was engaging and the integration of the photos a nice touch. The story took a while to get into the peculiar, and I was not a fan of Jacob - he read as a spoilt, rich kid and I didn't understand why he was friendless before (well, all except the one). It seemed convenient for the plot. I also found it a little strange that he ends up liking the same person his grandfather liked. To be honest, I'm really convinced this novel could have done without any romance.One thing I wish we had more of was some backstory for the peculiar children. A lot of times I found myself wondering, "who was that? Wait, what was their talent?" because most of the children blended as one.

It was a different story than I've read before. Not scary at all (though the cover makes it look haunting), and a really quick read. ( )

This was by no means a great literary work, but for youth fiction, it was good. It kept my interest page after page. And I found it quite interesting how he used the strange old photographs to illustrate parts of the story. ( )

This book is written around a teenage boy named Jacob. When he was little, his grandfather would tell him stories about how he spent his life running away from and sometimes fighting, monsters. He spoke of a safe place, an island, where he could hide from the monsters. As Jacob grew older, he believed the stories less and less. He learned later that the stories where really exaggerations if his grandfathers time in the 2nd world war. The monsters were really Germans, which may have seemed even worse to a young boy. The island paradise was just an orphanage, far away From the German rule. The children housed there had no peculiar powers as his grandfather described, the only thing strange about them was the fact that they were Jewish, or unwanted by the Germans. One day, when Jacob is 16, his grandfather dies under suspicious circumstances. Jacob finds him, barely alive, and thinks he sees one of the monsters his grandfather described. His grandfathers last words are, strange and code like. After describing the event to the police, they (of course) assume him to be insane. He eventually discovers the first part of his grandfathers code,a location, an island. Psychologist permitting, he travels to the island, and then, the orphanage. He finds his way into a time loop, where all the things his grandfather spoke about were real. This included the monsters. They capture the guardian of the loop, Miss Peregrine, only to have her rescued by Jacob and his new friends.

I enjoyed this book for a multitude of reasons. One of these was its wide variety of genres. These include things from time travel to fantasy or adventure. Another is the fact that it is written in first person. The narrative, while the main character is the one narrating, seems to be more focused on the story he is telling. I also enjoy the characters. Instead of choosing quality or quantity, the author found a perfect balance for both. With at least 10 or 11 fleshed-out characters, all with their moments in the spotlight. Lastly, and most importantly, is the plot. With twists and turns, ups and downs,there is no telling what is next. I cannot possibly sell this book enough. Not to mention it is all written with a skill quite unlike any I've witnessed, to a degree that is almost, peculiar. ( )

The author’s ability to use the photos to play with the reader’s imagination, while still holding the tension of the plot, is extraordinary. This kind of device can feel like a self-conscious reminder of the authorial hand, but this is not the case in Miss Peregrine’s Home.

In Miss Peregrine’s, a teenager decides to investigate the stories his grandfather told him about an island off the coast of Wales. He finds more than he bargained for, of course, and there are adventures, involving a group of kids with remarkable abilities which are almost, but not quite, entirely similar to mutants from X-Men comics. For a story constructed to make use of a collection of vintage snapshots, it’s impressively cohesive, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with yet another recounting of the hero’s journey from callow youth to manhood. But the book never lives up to its own aesthetic, and the story refuses to get past surface level on the occasional odd idea or intriguing concept. Whatever its faults, Miss Peregrine’s only true sin is that, presentation aside, it isn’t really that peculiar.

The idea for Miss Peregrine's Home popped into Ransom Riggs' head when he ran across some sinister-looking vintage photos, which ''suggest stories even though you don't know who the people are or exactly when they were taken.'' As he began writing, he kept searching for images, even combing swap meets and flea markets. ''I was developing the story as I was finding the photos. I'd find a particularly evocative photo and I'd say, 'I need to work this in somehow.' '' Most are reproduced in the novel ''as is,'' but a few have been digitally altered. Riggs says he ended up with more photos than he could use: ''I have a nice big fat backlog for the second book.'' — Keith Staskiewicz

With its X-Men: First Class-meets-time-travel story line, David Lynchian imagery, and rich, eerie detail, it's no wonder Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children has been snapped up by Twentieth Century Fox. This is a novel with ''movie adaptation'' written into its powerful DNA. B+

SLEEP IS NOT, DEATH IS NOT;WHO SEEM TO DIE LIVE.HOUSE YOU WERE BORN IN,FRIENDS OF YOUR SPRING-TIME,OLD MAN AND YOUNG MAID,DAY'S TOIL AND ITS GUERDON,THEY ARE ALL VANISHING,FLEEING TO FABLES,CANNOT BE MOORED.--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dedication

First words

I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.

Wikipedia in English (2)

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here — one of whom was his own grandfather — were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. And somehow — impossible though it seems — they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.